Friday, September 23, 2005
MOUNTAINSIDE VILLAGE, MAO & THE RAINY DRY SEASON
For being past the rainy season and into the dry season it certainly seems to have rained every day. More proof of global warming as if 14 Atlantic hurricanes by September hasnt already proven it.
2 hours south of Gongshan we stopped at this litte village for lunch and decided to stay in the area. After hearing of a 101 year-old lady in town who was alive during the reign of the emperors we went to find her and learn some history/the secret of life. She didn't speak any mandarin so we had someone translate. her wisdom was demonstrated through 3 simple words: "give me money."
We then went to a village 1km down the road and 800m up steep muddy trails. We arrived at a tiny little Lisu village called Yagula and stayed with the local schoolteacher who was 22. The village was poor and tiny but had a basketball court and we played for a while. Even the little kids had jumpshots, which i guess are a necessity when you are small.
Also, talking to our Chinese leader we learned the Chinese take on Mao. We need to "look past the propaganda." Yes Mao was responsible for the deaths of 40 million people, but look at all the giid things he did...equal rights for women, fixing the schools, restoring honor and power to a country humiliated in WWII and uniting the youth. More to come. We're now in Bing Jong Law 2 hours north of Gongshan. We go to Gongshan Sunday for a Lisu Protestant serivce. Gotta love missionaries.
For being past the rainy season and into the dry season it certainly seems to have rained every day. More proof of global warming as if 14 Atlantic hurricanes by September hasnt already proven it.
2 hours south of Gongshan we stopped at this litte village for lunch and decided to stay in the area. After hearing of a 101 year-old lady in town who was alive during the reign of the emperors we went to find her and learn some history/the secret of life. She didn't speak any mandarin so we had someone translate. her wisdom was demonstrated through 3 simple words: "give me money."
We then went to a village 1km down the road and 800m up steep muddy trails. We arrived at a tiny little Lisu village called Yagula and stayed with the local schoolteacher who was 22. The village was poor and tiny but had a basketball court and we played for a while. Even the little kids had jumpshots, which i guess are a necessity when you are small.
Also, talking to our Chinese leader we learned the Chinese take on Mao. We need to "look past the propaganda." Yes Mao was responsible for the deaths of 40 million people, but look at all the giid things he did...equal rights for women, fixing the schools, restoring honor and power to a country humiliated in WWII and uniting the youth. More to come. We're now in Bing Jong Law 2 hours north of Gongshan. We go to Gongshan Sunday for a Lisu Protestant serivce. Gotta love missionaries.
Monday, September 19, 2005
MOON FESTIVAL RAVE, BBQed FOREIGNERS & TOO MANY GOD DAMN STAIRS
After stepping off a 6 hour bus ride 70km south of Liuku we wandered through this small village looking for a place to eat lunch. On the way we met a lady selling grapefruits who invited us into her home in a tiny Yee (a hilltribe) village. There were about 12 houses in the village. They fed us and implored us to stay for the Moon Festival (a national holiday and party on the autumn full moon, where everyone gets drunk, dances around and eats "mooncakes" - big cookies.) The whole village showed up around 8pm. The local government official opened the celebration by saying that they had never had foreigners there before and they would teach us their culture if we would teach them ours. They danced (more circle dance,) We sang American Pie. They did another dance, I juggled. And so on and so forth.
The next part of the festivities was the lighting a fire and tossing people up and down over it. Everyone was BBQed, some more voluntarily than others. Then we set off Roman Candles and some other fireworks. The ones bought earlier that day were neat, the ones that were quite old exploded on the ground terrifying everyone.
After the traditional festivities were done, someone put on Chinese Techo and siezing the opportunity I decided to turn it into a rave. I broke out the glowsticks which had mixed results....the youth loved them, the old people were freaked out and left :)
This morning we walked 4km up to a Buddhist temple in a place only a Buddhist would think to build it... on the side of a mountain. The hike up took 2 hours, and after an hour hiking through fields of coffee beans and corn we came to stairs. I lost track at 500something but there were some really steep points that made me question if I really have gotten over my fear of heights. The temple and 3 waterfalls on the mountain were spectacular and we spend a few hours up there.
Now in Liuku for tonight...tomorrow we go to Fugong. What we do there I do not know.
After stepping off a 6 hour bus ride 70km south of Liuku we wandered through this small village looking for a place to eat lunch. On the way we met a lady selling grapefruits who invited us into her home in a tiny Yee (a hilltribe) village. There were about 12 houses in the village. They fed us and implored us to stay for the Moon Festival (a national holiday and party on the autumn full moon, where everyone gets drunk, dances around and eats "mooncakes" - big cookies.) The whole village showed up around 8pm. The local government official opened the celebration by saying that they had never had foreigners there before and they would teach us their culture if we would teach them ours. They danced (more circle dance,) We sang American Pie. They did another dance, I juggled. And so on and so forth.
The next part of the festivities was the lighting a fire and tossing people up and down over it. Everyone was BBQed, some more voluntarily than others. Then we set off Roman Candles and some other fireworks. The ones bought earlier that day were neat, the ones that were quite old exploded on the ground terrifying everyone.
After the traditional festivities were done, someone put on Chinese Techo and siezing the opportunity I decided to turn it into a rave. I broke out the glowsticks which had mixed results....the youth loved them, the old people were freaked out and left :)
This morning we walked 4km up to a Buddhist temple in a place only a Buddhist would think to build it... on the side of a mountain. The hike up took 2 hours, and after an hour hiking through fields of coffee beans and corn we came to stairs. I lost track at 500something but there were some really steep points that made me question if I really have gotten over my fear of heights. The temple and 3 waterfalls on the mountain were spectacular and we spend a few hours up there.
Now in Liuku for tonight...tomorrow we go to Fugong. What we do there I do not know.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
VALUABLE LESSONS & JUNGLE CAMPING
I learned 2 valuable lessons over these last few days. #1, listen to the guides；#2, even drunk locals know the area better than we do. We arrived at the Lisu village (Leechow i think it was called,) 10km from the Burmese border and the guide told us we could stay there and do day treks from the village...apparently, the area we were shotoing for near the border was closed two days prior to our arrival due to an escalation in their never-ending civil war. Wanting to be adventurous we picked up a local to lead us to an even smaller village. The local was quite drunk and said we should take a car but we decided to walk the 2 miles. 5 miles later and an hour until dark we relized that this village didn't exist. trying to find shelter and with almost no food (4 moon cakes, 5 oranges and 4 boiled eggs for 10 people) we came across an abandoned road workers camp up in the trees. after assessing its safty, we went up and built a fire. It was a well designed camp with sticks and cardboard laid out as beds, a fire pit and plastic tarps to shield the rain. While some worried about malaria, some killed spiders and others sang.
Back in Tengchong now at a guesthouse. The shower was quite refreshing (i.e. freezing.) Tomorrow we head up the Nujong (sp?) river to a Dai village near Liuku, hopefully with better results.
I learned 2 valuable lessons over these last few days. #1, listen to the guides；#2, even drunk locals know the area better than we do. We arrived at the Lisu village (Leechow i think it was called,) 10km from the Burmese border and the guide told us we could stay there and do day treks from the village...apparently, the area we were shotoing for near the border was closed two days prior to our arrival due to an escalation in their never-ending civil war. Wanting to be adventurous we picked up a local to lead us to an even smaller village. The local was quite drunk and said we should take a car but we decided to walk the 2 miles. 5 miles later and an hour until dark we relized that this village didn't exist. trying to find shelter and with almost no food (4 moon cakes, 5 oranges and 4 boiled eggs for 10 people) we came across an abandoned road workers camp up in the trees. after assessing its safty, we went up and built a fire. It was a well designed camp with sticks and cardboard laid out as beds, a fire pit and plastic tarps to shield the rain. While some worried about malaria, some killed spiders and others sang.
Back in Tengchong now at a guesthouse. The shower was quite refreshing (i.e. freezing.) Tomorrow we head up the Nujong (sp?) river to a Dai village near Liuku, hopefully with better results.
Friday, September 16, 2005
COMMUNIST HAIRCUTS, MILITARY PROPAGANDA & MTV
After dinner, our homestay family took us around Hua Shun. We visited the Yunnan-Burmese Anti-Japanese War Museum (WWII.) Learning about how the sun and moon gloriously came together to bring great victory to the Chinese (with minimal help for the rest of the world) was interesting and quite educational. I also learned that Japanese people eat human hearts. I didn't see it when I was in Japan but that's probably because they do it behind closed doors.
All the little children have haircuts here that look very similar to an Iroquois haircut - shaved with a little circular patch in front. I went to the Communist barber - a man who was dressed as Mao dressed 40 years ago - and for $.37 I got that haircut and a shave. I've heard 3 reasons Chinese kids get this haircut. 1) Hygiene; 2) to make the kids ugly so the devil won't take them; 3) to promote wealth in the family becausae a symbol of wealth (little boy) has the same haircut.
That evening we watched a DVD of the 50th anniversary of the revolution. Chinese parading around Tian'anmen in tanks, soldiers with kalashnikovs, MiGs and warheads. Quite a spectacle. The homestay family sawe how much I liked the video and gave me a copy. I noticed on the back that it was produced with the help of MTV. Now, I knew that MTV was solely responsible for the influence of western culture on China but I didn't know they were in the business of manufacturing military propaganda., Perhaps they are so overanxious to be a part of the worlds fastest growing market that they are willing to sell their soul to do so. But honestly, would anyone expect anything less of MTV?
After dinner, our homestay family took us around Hua Shun. We visited the Yunnan-Burmese Anti-Japanese War Museum (WWII.) Learning about how the sun and moon gloriously came together to bring great victory to the Chinese (with minimal help for the rest of the world) was interesting and quite educational. I also learned that Japanese people eat human hearts. I didn't see it when I was in Japan but that's probably because they do it behind closed doors.
All the little children have haircuts here that look very similar to an Iroquois haircut - shaved with a little circular patch in front. I went to the Communist barber - a man who was dressed as Mao dressed 40 years ago - and for $.37 I got that haircut and a shave. I've heard 3 reasons Chinese kids get this haircut. 1) Hygiene; 2) to make the kids ugly so the devil won't take them; 3) to promote wealth in the family becausae a symbol of wealth (little boy) has the same haircut.
That evening we watched a DVD of the 50th anniversary of the revolution. Chinese parading around Tian'anmen in tanks, soldiers with kalashnikovs, MiGs and warheads. Quite a spectacle. The homestay family sawe how much I liked the video and gave me a copy. I noticed on the back that it was produced with the help of MTV. Now, I knew that MTV was solely responsible for the influence of western culture on China but I didn't know they were in the business of manufacturing military propaganda., Perhaps they are so overanxious to be a part of the worlds fastest growing market that they are willing to sell their soul to do so. But honestly, would anyone expect anything less of MTV?
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
TEACHING ENGLISH, TENGCHONG & A FUNERAL FEAST
You know how people joke about being hungry 30 minutes after eating Chinese food? Well it's true. I've been eating a ton and am still always hungry. The overnight bus to Tengchong (30 miles from the Burmese border) was rather terrifying - winding mountain roads, high speed and such - but we arrived at 7 am yesterday. The guest house was closed so we wandered around town for a bit before finding a school.
I wanted to see if we could teach English and the schoolmaster welcomed us. After teaching a classroom of 9-year-olds for an hour - which I think helped my Chinese more than their English - I put on a show for them with my juggling. I had 100 little kids diving for the ball every time I dropped one.
That afternoon we went to a Han (ethnic Chinese) village near Tengchong. Megan, Dean and I wandered as far uphill as we could and stumbled upon a Taoist shrine and graves amidst the cornfields. The view was spectacular and we really considered ditching the group and hiking to Burma. When we arrived back at the village gates for dinner we set of wandering through town in search of a restaurant. As we entered what appeared to be a restaurant, we quickly realized it was a family's house. They were preparing food for 40+ people as a funeral feats in honor of a grandmother that had just died. We were invited to stay, given the main table and served copious amounts of beef, pork, chicken, duck, lamb, fat, soup, dumplings and other foods which kept coming even after none of us could eat anything more. All they wanted in return was for us to send them a picture of their group plus ours - though we're stopping back today to give them some local rice wine, a pack of Marlboros and some other things in appreciation.
Today we went to a volcano about an hour west of Tengchong. Its amazing, the path and steps (615 each way) up to the volcano were built to accomidate massive amounts of tourists yet in 5 days here, the only other foreigner I've seen in China has been a single German backpacker. Post-volcano we stopped for lunch at this little spot where, for the first time since I've been here someone tried to rip us off - overcharging us 300% for a dish we didn't even order. We then wandered along this river running aside where we ate lunch. We walked past this cave and decided to explore. Led by Chay - our Australian leader, who climbs 20ft. walls in sandals - we descended through the cave, saw some bats and climbed out a narrow exit into the woods by the trail. 5 minutes later we came to a river with clean looking water and went for a swim/bath. It was fun but we'll see if there was anything in that water that will hurry the approach of my viking funeral.
Chinese Tongue Twister (said with varying tones)
Si Shi Si; Shi Shi Shi; Shi Si Shi Shi Si; Si Shi Shi Si Shi (4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14, 40 is 40)
You know how people joke about being hungry 30 minutes after eating Chinese food? Well it's true. I've been eating a ton and am still always hungry. The overnight bus to Tengchong (30 miles from the Burmese border) was rather terrifying - winding mountain roads, high speed and such - but we arrived at 7 am yesterday. The guest house was closed so we wandered around town for a bit before finding a school.
I wanted to see if we could teach English and the schoolmaster welcomed us. After teaching a classroom of 9-year-olds for an hour - which I think helped my Chinese more than their English - I put on a show for them with my juggling. I had 100 little kids diving for the ball every time I dropped one.
That afternoon we went to a Han (ethnic Chinese) village near Tengchong. Megan, Dean and I wandered as far uphill as we could and stumbled upon a Taoist shrine and graves amidst the cornfields. The view was spectacular and we really considered ditching the group and hiking to Burma. When we arrived back at the village gates for dinner we set of wandering through town in search of a restaurant. As we entered what appeared to be a restaurant, we quickly realized it was a family's house. They were preparing food for 40+ people as a funeral feats in honor of a grandmother that had just died. We were invited to stay, given the main table and served copious amounts of beef, pork, chicken, duck, lamb, fat, soup, dumplings and other foods which kept coming even after none of us could eat anything more. All they wanted in return was for us to send them a picture of their group plus ours - though we're stopping back today to give them some local rice wine, a pack of Marlboros and some other things in appreciation.
Today we went to a volcano about an hour west of Tengchong. Its amazing, the path and steps (615 each way) up to the volcano were built to accomidate massive amounts of tourists yet in 5 days here, the only other foreigner I've seen in China has been a single German backpacker. Post-volcano we stopped for lunch at this little spot where, for the first time since I've been here someone tried to rip us off - overcharging us 300% for a dish we didn't even order. We then wandered along this river running aside where we ate lunch. We walked past this cave and decided to explore. Led by Chay - our Australian leader, who climbs 20ft. walls in sandals - we descended through the cave, saw some bats and climbed out a narrow exit into the woods by the trail. 5 minutes later we came to a river with clean looking water and went for a swim/bath. It was fun but we'll see if there was anything in that water that will hurry the approach of my viking funeral.
Chinese Tongue Twister (said with varying tones)
Si Shi Si; Shi Shi Shi; Shi Si Shi Shi Si; Si Shi Shi Si Shi (4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14, 40 is 40)
Sunday, September 11, 2005
A MONTH TREKKING NEAR BURMA
We leave Kunming tonight for a 9 hour bus ride to Tengchong. From there we will be hiking up a mountain pass along the Yunnan/Burma border. The plan is to stay in local villages and with hilltribes along the way. Over the next month we will work our way up to the Tibetan regions of Yunnan and Szechuan. We arrive in Gongshang in a few weeks and trek over a mountain pass at 14,000ft to a village where we catch a bus back to Kunming or Chengdu or Xi'an. TBD. I'm told there's internet access at least in Tengchong and in a few other places along the way. I consolidated my pack for the trek, down from 50lbs to 25.
Chinese toilets are interesting. A hole in the ground that one squats over. I, who normally have the balance of a drunken amputee flamingo have been lucky so far, but there will be funny anecdotes to come.
We leave Kunming tonight for a 9 hour bus ride to Tengchong. From there we will be hiking up a mountain pass along the Yunnan/Burma border. The plan is to stay in local villages and with hilltribes along the way. Over the next month we will work our way up to the Tibetan regions of Yunnan and Szechuan. We arrive in Gongshang in a few weeks and trek over a mountain pass at 14,000ft to a village where we catch a bus back to Kunming or Chengdu or Xi'an. TBD. I'm told there's internet access at least in Tengchong and in a few other places along the way. I consolidated my pack for the trek, down from 50lbs to 25.
Chinese toilets are interesting. A hole in the ground that one squats over. I, who normally have the balance of a drunken amputee flamingo have been lucky so far, but there will be funny anecdotes to come.
Friday, September 09, 2005
COMMUNIST AIRLINES, INTERNET FILTERS & KUNG FU
After a harrowing 40 hours I have arrived in Kunming and gotten settled at the youth hostel. As I was checking my baggage in LA I noticed that China Southern Airlines doesn't have first class on their airline. Since a class system is a very un-communist concept the section titles were changed to economy, premium economy and premium business class.
There are 6 people in my group (more to come on that as I get to know them better.) Tomorrow we start planning our month of travel before we return to Kunming for our homestay and Independent Study Project (ISP.) I have decided that my project will be learning Kung Fu along with some traditional Chinese medicine. I've been wanting to learn a martial art and where better to start learning then in the country it began.
We ate lunch at a Muslim noodle shop today. We watched them make the dough, turn it into noodles and bring us soup. They were the best noodles I've ever had and the meal cost $.30 per person. This evening we wandered around the lake in central Kunming by our hostel. Everyone comes out at night and theres singing, dancing, instrument playing and a festive atmosphere, I joined in a circle dance (same as in Judaism) and made some new friends. Tomorrow I think I'll bring my juggling balls. I'm up to 28 catches.
My Chinese is progressing, I know some phrases and verbs but am still illiterate. This obstacle has been making computer use here quite a challenge. This is compounded by the fact that my blog is filtered out by the Chinese government's massive servers. While I can post, I cannot access my blog from anywhere in the country. If you want to leave comments for me you can Email me at Eisenberg1 AT comcast DOT net.
After a harrowing 40 hours I have arrived in Kunming and gotten settled at the youth hostel. As I was checking my baggage in LA I noticed that China Southern Airlines doesn't have first class on their airline. Since a class system is a very un-communist concept the section titles were changed to economy, premium economy and premium business class.
There are 6 people in my group (more to come on that as I get to know them better.) Tomorrow we start planning our month of travel before we return to Kunming for our homestay and Independent Study Project (ISP.) I have decided that my project will be learning Kung Fu along with some traditional Chinese medicine. I've been wanting to learn a martial art and where better to start learning then in the country it began.
We ate lunch at a Muslim noodle shop today. We watched them make the dough, turn it into noodles and bring us soup. They were the best noodles I've ever had and the meal cost $.30 per person. This evening we wandered around the lake in central Kunming by our hostel. Everyone comes out at night and theres singing, dancing, instrument playing and a festive atmosphere, I joined in a circle dance (same as in Judaism) and made some new friends. Tomorrow I think I'll bring my juggling balls. I'm up to 28 catches.
My Chinese is progressing, I know some phrases and verbs but am still illiterate. This obstacle has been making computer use here quite a challenge. This is compounded by the fact that my blog is filtered out by the Chinese government's massive servers. While I can post, I cannot access my blog from anywhere in the country. If you want to leave comments for me you can Email me at Eisenberg1 AT comcast DOT net.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
CHRISTMAS, VIKINGS & MARLBOROS: 2 DAYS UNTIL SENDOFF
In preparation for this trip I went downtown to buy gifts for my homestay family. In my travels I've found that the best gifts are books about my hometown for the families and little tchochkes for the kids. What would normally be an easy task was complicated by the fact that almost everything in the store was made in China. After finally settling on a book and a "Philadelphia" Christmas tree ornament (made in China) - while they won't celebrate Christmas, and nor do I - will be a nice decoration somewhere.
As I thought about what America is known best for, I decided to add 2 more items: A few pairs of Levi jeans and a carton of Marlboro Reds. In a country where 400 million people smoke, these will come in handy and make a great gift.
I've been having a lot of dreams of death lately. Some people say death in one's dreams signifies upcoming change in one's life. My leaving for 6 months is a significant change. However, if in fact the dream actually predicts my own death, here is what I want to happen.
Ben's funeral arrangements:
The Vikings often cremated their dead leaders inside their own warships, as a tribute. I want a variation on the Viking funeral. Place me in a boat on a body of water with some posessions for the afterlife. The Boat is to be pushed into the water and while someone reads from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, everyone present is invited to launch flaming arrows at my funeral pyre (only until it's lit) and watch the smoke rise to Valhölla.
In preparation for this trip I went downtown to buy gifts for my homestay family. In my travels I've found that the best gifts are books about my hometown for the families and little tchochkes for the kids. What would normally be an easy task was complicated by the fact that almost everything in the store was made in China. After finally settling on a book and a "Philadelphia" Christmas tree ornament (made in China) - while they won't celebrate Christmas, and nor do I - will be a nice decoration somewhere.
As I thought about what America is known best for, I decided to add 2 more items: A few pairs of Levi jeans and a carton of Marlboro Reds. In a country where 400 million people smoke, these will come in handy and make a great gift.
I've been having a lot of dreams of death lately. Some people say death in one's dreams signifies upcoming change in one's life. My leaving for 6 months is a significant change. However, if in fact the dream actually predicts my own death, here is what I want to happen.
Ben's funeral arrangements:
The Vikings often cremated their dead leaders inside their own warships, as a tribute. I want a variation on the Viking funeral. Place me in a boat on a body of water with some posessions for the afterlife. The Boat is to be pushed into the water and while someone reads from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, everyone present is invited to launch flaming arrows at my funeral pyre (only until it's lit) and watch the smoke rise to Valhölla.
